Craig Hendry issued a threat to prosecutors after he was not jailed on Thursday for contempt of court as what he thought was a contempt of court hearing over seen by the prosecutor in the case turned out to be a preliminary hearing to set up the contempt of court case on August 15.
Hendry originally believed that prosecutor Jarrod D. Holtsclaw was working on his own in filing the hearing to determine whether there would be a hearing for contempt of court. He had accused Holtsclaw of acting as the judge in the case and overruling a request by Hendry to delay the hearing due to a conflict.
Addressing this, Hendry apologized to Holtsclaw as the motion to reschedule was in fact overruled by the Judge in the case and Hendry simply had not yet received notice of the ruling.
Turning his attention to the recording that Hendry aired on his channel that recorded a previous hearing in the case despite a judge’s order against recording in the courthouse, Hendry claimed that since Indiana and Illinois share a Federal district court, then rules in Illinois should apply to Indiana.
He found the case of People v. Clark in Illinois, which he claims establishes that recordings are media and media are a tool of the press and should be protected. It did not, however, establish that an Illinois lawsuit would impact anything to do with the Indiana case.
Hendry also admitted that he has a poor memory and that a personal recording of the hearings should be allowed to help him prepare for future hearings.
Admitting he was confused at one point when the Judge and the Prosecutor asked him what rights he thought were violated by the Judge’s ruling against filming in the courthouse, Hendry said freedom of the press, despite the press having the ability to record in the court after filing for permission to do so with the Judge in advance.
The YouTuber put Prosecutor Holtsclaw “on notice” that he was now armed with the Illinois ruling and would be able to prevail at the next hearing, set for August 15, 2024.
He also claimed he would be consulting an attorney who may take over the case.
Hendry’s call to action for fans to come to the hearing in a “show of force” resulted in three fans arriving to support him in person, along with Hendry’s longtime friend Tyler Pierce, and members of his family including Hendry’s two-week-old daughter.